Many of the frustrations in marketing come from focusing on the wrong things. We ask the wrong questions, which in turn makes the problem we’re trying to solve seem that much more difficult. In fact, we often end up trying to solve the wrong problem in the first place!

Consider a typical Restaurant owner. She may think her goal is to reach the 15,000 people in her overall market area, or a, but that’s really not the “goal” at all. That’s just a means to an end. The real goal is to fill the 75 tables in her restaurant every night she’s open.

Accomplishing that may not involve a campaign that reaches out to 15,000 people or costs a fortune, but instead might be as simple as reaching out to the restaurant’s immediate market area (a customer could be as close as next door!). Or it might be as simple as trying to get more repeat/frequent business from its existing customers or in getting existing customers to tell others about their positive experience so they become brand ambassadors for the restaurant. She might find that if she makes her goal filling the 75 tables repeatedly, it’s as simple, and attainable, as satisfying one customer at a time.

Remember, sometimes getting MORE business is as simple as doing GOOD business!

Often we waste too much time and energy trying to solve the wrong problems. And the flip side to that, of course, is that once we accurately define the problem, solving it becomes a whole lot easier!